Performance of Portland Limestone Cement and Supplementary Cementitious Materials in VDOT Concretes

About the project:

One major change in the cement industry is the introduction of the portland-limestone cements (PLC or Type IL) to reduce carbon footprint and to address concerns with sustainability.  The only cement plant in Virginia has stopped producing the commonly used Type I/II cements.  The new Type IL contains up to 15% limestone whereas the maximum limestone in Type I/II is 5%.  Increase in the limestone amount in Type IL cement provides reduced carbon footprint but is expected to attain similar properties as the Type I/II cements mainly due to the nucleation sites created by the fine limestone particles. 

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are used to supplement the use of portland cement. Their use reduces the cost, improves the properties of concrete especially the durability of concrete, and contributes to sustainability. In this study existing and new SCMs will be investigated in the laboratory with the new Type IL cements to ensure quality and cost-effective concretes are achieved.

Project Team

Co-Principal Investigators